Editorial Reviews

Jane Austen might never have imagined that her 1816 novel Emma could be turned into a fresh and satirical look at ultra-rich teenagers in a Beverly Hills high school. Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and Dionne (Stacey Dash), both named after "great singers of the past that now do infomercials," are pampered upper-class girls who care less about getting good grades than wearing the right clothes and being as popular as possible. But Cher, who lives with her tough yet warm-hearted lawyer dad (Dan Hedaya) and hunky, sensitive stepbrother (Paul Rudd), also has an innate urge to help those less fortunate - like the two introverted teachers she brings together ("negotiating" herself improved grades in the process) and new friend Tai (Brittany Murphy), who starts out a geek and ends up a Cher prodigy. Cher also possesses her own sensitive side, and she is looking for the perfect boyfriend, whom she ends up finding where she least expected.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

This new special edition is a definite improvement over the previous incarnation that had no real extras to speak of and so for fans of this movie it is definitely worth the double-dip. Watching these new extras is like revisiting the cast ten years later to see what they've been up to. They are done in the style of and maintain the same tone of the movie which is a nice touch.

"The Class of `95" examines how the film was cast. Heckerling talks about how she picked the actors. The main cast members, except for Silverstone and Jeremy Sisto, are all back to talk about how their involvement.

"Creative Writing" takes a look at the film's origins. The studio originally wanted Heckerling to write a TV show about an in-crowd group of teens but they didn't get it so she changed it into a movie.

"Fashion 101" examines the memorable costumes from the movie. What Cher and her friends wore reflected the personality of each character and ended up influencing what kids subsequently wore.

"Language Arts" is a crash course on the film's colourful slang. Heckerling had collected books and lists of slang over the years and incorporated it into the movie so that each character had their own way of speaking and favourite sayings that are now quoted endlessly by its fans.

"Suck `n Blow: A Tutorial" explains the party game that takes place in the film in an amusing featurette done during the production.

The challenge of shooting Dionne's driving lesson on the Los Angeles freeway is explored in "Driver's Ed." It was a logistical nightmare with all kinds of vehicles coming at the actors so that their scared reactions were genuine!

"We're History" features the cast and crew talking about what they think about the film ten years later. Not surprisingly, they are all proud of its legacy and how well it's aged.

This clever, modern retelling of Jane Austen's novel "Emma " was one of the best high-school theme films made in the past twenty years. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling ("Fast Times at Ridgemont High"; "Look Who's Talking) spent a year in the lives of several teens at various high schools in Los Angeles to give the filmgoer a truly authentic look at life among the young social elites of Southern California.Alicia Silverstone ("Excess Baggage"; "Batman & Robin") stars as Cher Horowitz, a young, hip teen residing with her lawyer father (Dan Hedaya) in Beverly Hills. Along with best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash of "Mo' Money"), the girls are the doers of social good deeds at their high school. Whether it is trying to play matchmaker for two lonely teachers (playwright Wallace Shawn and Twink Caplan, who is also an executive producer of the film) or doing a serious make over for Tai (Brittany Murphy) a new, dowdy student from the east coast, Cher is the toast of the school among her peers.However, playing matchmaker for others has made Cher realized that she too needs to find someone special in her life. Pestered by her ex-stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd) in doping deeds that benefits others and not only herself, Cher discovers that what she truly needs is a spiritual makeover that will allow her to attain happiness and respect. Yet, she wonders why it bothers her so much on what Josh is thinking? As the story progresses, we discover that opposites attract and Cher has realized how "clueless" she was while looking for Mr. Right.Wonderfully directed and casted,"Clueless" features some memorable performance by Julie Brown (as Ms.Read more ›

Why is it the best teen movie of all time? Because it was hip, and it was smart. There was no gross-out humor or slapstick comedy. It was a big movie with a big heart. It's really hard not to fall in love with this movie.Loosely based on Jane Austen's "Emma" (LOOSELY), "Clueless" revolves around a ditzy rich girl name Cher, whose life consists mostly of cell phones, trips to the mall, a killer wardrobe, and tons of guys drooling over her. Her best friend is Dionne, who is just as superficial as Cher. One day, a new girl, Ty, comes to school and inspires a project for Cher. Project: Makeover! What begins as a selfish way to make Cher think she's doing something to help mankind, turns into a really sweet, funny film.Alicia Silverstone is wonderful in this movie, and sadly has not found any good roles since. A shame, since she is genuinly a great actress. This is also where Brittany Murphy got her big start, as the girl in desperate need of a makeover. And who didn't have a crush on Paul Rudd, who played her "annoying" older ex-stepbrother?If you haven't seen this film yet, then, well, I'm wondering why. It was at one point my favorite movie, and it's still high up on my list. It's charming, sweet, funny, and smart. If only other teen movies could take notes from this one. Then we wouldn't have to sit through these ridiculous ones they keep putting out all the time ("American Pie" springs to mind...).

A wonderful up to date retelling of Jane Austen's, 'Emma'. Cher (Silverstone) has a privileged life, she goes to a great school and is popular along with her good friend Dionne (Dash).She lives with her widowed father (Hedaya) and the only pebble under her perfectly manicured feet is her ex step-brother Josh (Rudd).Cher loves to play matchmaker and can't resist the challenge when she meets the new girl in school, Ty, who isn't exactly 'popular' material at first glance. Having taken her under her wing and given her a complete makeover, Cher then tries to match her up with various boys.This is alright until Ty takes a fancy to Josh and then Cher suddenly realises that she has feelings for him herself - but who will get the man?Silverstone is absolutely fantastic in this film. She handles the difficult role SO well and you can't help but really like Cher and want her to get the man of her dreams for all her obvious flaws.Add a brilliant combination of comedy, both oneliners and visual, and the fact that it's literally such a colourful movie and you've got yourself a film that will leave you smiling for ages afterwards.